Yahya Rahim Safavi

Yahya Rahim Safavi (2 January 1958-) was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran from 1 September 1997 to 1 September 2007, succeeding Mohsen Rezaee and preceding Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Biography
Yahya Rahim Safavi was born on 2 January 1958 in Isfahan, Iran to an family of Azeris (from Azerbaijan). He served in the Iranian 2nd Artillery Brigade during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, and he later fought in Iran's external operations, commanding the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from 1997 to 2007 and leading the Iranian troops during the Battle of Herat in 2001. In 2007, he was succeeded as leader of the IRGC by Mohammad Ali Jafari.